Great horned owls are hooting from and near their nests. The
nocturnal predators are among the earliest birds to nest each year.

Most invertebrate life in ice-covered ponds and lakes will
be forced to settle deeper into the muck at the bottom

A day after each new snowfall, the under-snow trails of
meadow voles can be spotted.

During periods of extreme cold, deep snow, heavily
ice-crusted snow or combinations of all of these, squirrels will remain inside
their den trees and nests most of the time.

Bald eagles that spend most of the year north of
Pennsylvania have joined the state's resident birds on open waters in the
state.

Some Native Americans knew the full moon in January as the "Wolf
Moon" because the large canines often were spotting at dusk near the human
villages, where they scavenged for food.

According to accuweather.com, New Year's Day 2013 had more
snow coverage across the U.S. than on any other Jan. 1 over the past decade.
The State College-based weather service noted that 67 percent of the contiguous
U.S. was covered by snow on the first day of 2013. The previous record was set
in 2010, when the new year saw 61 percent of the U.S. beneath snow. That same
season was marked by the blizzard nicknamed "Snowmageddon,"' in the
mid-Atlantic, which set a long list of records in cities such as Philadelphia,
D.C. and Baltimore.

Share your January nature observations from anywhere in
Pennsylvania by posting them in a comment below or by sending them to nature writer
Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com.

Events and programs:

Friday, Jan. 11 - George Armistead, events coordinator for
the American Birding Association and research associate at the Academy of
Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, will present "pOrnithology: The Birds and the
Birds and the Bees", a review of some interesting reproductive strategies in
birds and associated unusual behavior at a meeting of the Lancaster Bird Club at
7:30 p.m. at the Farm and Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Rd., Lancaster. A short
business meeting will precede the program. 717-393-2546 or 717-393-4091; www.lancasterbirdclub.org.

Sunday, Jan. 13 - Stress-Buster Hike of 2-2.5 miles over
uneven terrain at a moderate pace from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at Kings Gap
Environmental Education Center, south of Carlisle. Burn some calories and learn
to navigate the trail system using the park map. Waterproof footwear is
advised. Trekking poles will be
available. gpadilla@pa.gov or 717-486-3799.

Tuesday, Jan. 15 - A representative of Wilderness Volunteers
will discuss the volunteer service trips organized by the non-profit in
cooperation with the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land
Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at 7 p.m. at the REI store in
Conshohocken. Wilderness Volunteers runs 50 week-long service trips each year
throughout our national parks, forests and wilderness areas. www.wildernessvolunteers.org.

Thursday, Jan. 17 - Tim Eck, president of the Pennsylvania Chapter
of the American Chestnut Foundation, will present "The Fall and Rise of the
American Chestnut" at 7:30 p.m. at the meeting of the Appalachian Audubon
Society at 7 p.m. at Christ Presbyterian Church, 421 Deerfield Road, Camp Hill
(in the Allendale development). Once the dominant species across the east, the
American chestnut was considered more important than the oaks we have today but
by 1950 the species was almost eradicated by a blight. Eck will discuss a
restoration project that is giving hope that the species will make a comeback. His
program will be preceded by refreshments and social time at 7 and a brief meeting
at 7:30 p.m.